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UWAYKEY: Can an $18 Amplifier Be Any Good?

Rate this amplifier:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 78 56.5%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 52 37.7%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther

    Votes: 6 4.3%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 2 1.4%

  • Total voters
    138

DanielT

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18€/$ at Amazon, 12€/$ at Aliexpress, with shipping!

View attachment 208291
How do they even make a profit from this?

The chips data sheet:

Anyway, thanks @amirm, very interesting. Had hoped to beat the Lepai, but channel separation just isn't there.
I did a search: TPA 3116

Fascinating how many amplifiers appear then. That there were so many based on the TPA 3116D2 chip, I could not have guessed that. :)

(many amplifier cards, but also amps assembled in chassis/box)

Edit:
It looks fun, but I think about what restorer-john said, #18 in this thread:

They have on chip protection, but in real terms, when they fail, they will present the full output of the connected power supply to your speaker / s. Usually the PSU will shut down before smoking the woofer voice coil, but not always.

I certainly would not be connecting any speakers of value (or ones you care about) to these things.
 
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tomtoo

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I did a search: TPA 3116

Fascinating how many amplifiers appear then. That there were so many based on the TPA 3116D2 chip, I could not have guessed that. :)

(many amplifier cards, but also amps assembled in chassis/box)

Edit:
It looks fun, but I think about what restorer-john said, #18 in this thread:

They have on chip protection, but in real terms, when they fail, they will present the full output of the connected power supply to your speaker / s. Usually the PSU will shut down before smoking the woofer voice coil, but not always.

I certainly would not be connecting any speakers of value (or ones you care about) to these things.

I never heard about killing a speaker with a failed tpa3116 or tpa3255. Are somewhere some statistics about this problem? I always thought they have more protection build in then many cheap discrete amps?
 

DanielT

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I never heard about killing a speaker with a failed tpa3116 or tpa3255. Are somewhere some statistics about this problem? I always thought they have more protection build in then many cheap discrete amps?
Hm,restorer-john has to explain a little more in that case. I do not know. The link in my post #41, if you look at some of the amplifiers, you can also read the buyers' responses. Had the amps burned speakers, it would probably have been written about that in the comments. Can you at least suspect.
 

Digby

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No way. Partly no phono input but vinyl, I think, should be played with vintage turntable and time-typical amplifier, receiver. Something like::)

View attachment 208148

It was my old-fashioned conservative self that spoke out now. But that UWAYKEY with vinyl is like::)

Maybe a bit of a far-fetched parable it is admitted, but still.:)
Do you understand what Gino unintentionally said? You have used it to express something absurd, which is what Gino meant, but what he said in the context of British English is far funnier. The hosts wouldn't have laughed like that otherwise.
 

antcollinet

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Hm,restorer-john has to explain a little more in that case. I do not know. The link in my post #41, if you look at some of the amplifiers, you can also read the buyers' responses. Had the amps burned speakers, it would probably have been written about that in the comments. Can you at least suspect.
I'm gonna suggest the protection only works while the chip is working properly. If the chip blows up (more than possible with a power device - especially if not cooled properly) then all bets are off, and PSU can short to output.

How frequent this is I have no idea.
 
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TheBatsEar

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DanielT

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Do you understand what Gino unintentionally said? You have used it to express something absurd, which is what Gino meant, but what he said in the context of British English is far funnier. The hosts wouldn't have laughed like that otherwise.
Aha. :)

It was a bit far-fetched and mabye not fitting .. if my UWAYKEY had phono input then it would ...:)
(nop it does not work properly)

Too damn funny video anyway.:D

Interesting:

I'm gonna suggest the protaction only works while the chip is working properly. If the chip blows up (more than possible with a power device - especially if not cooled properly) then all bets are off, and PSU can short to output.

How frequent this is I have no idea.
Ok! :)
 
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tomtoo

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_=
Aha. :)

It was a bit far-fetched and mabye not fitting .. if my UWAYKEY had phono input then it would ...:)
(nop it does not work properly)

Too damn funny video anyway.:D

Interesting:


Ok! :)

You could use a real beauty like this.
http://www.dual-reference.info/tables/1234.htm (my first i was 15)

Ceramic pick-up, no need for a phono pre. You not even need to clean the disk. The wight on the needel is so high, it goes thru dirt like butter. ;)
 
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srkbear

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Hey, Clapton recorded his iconic guitar tracks on “Layla” on a 10 watt Fender Tweed Champ, and since that amp was built in the days before preamp gain stages, he just cranked it up to 10 in the studio and contained it along with a mic inside a wooden box…and I’ve always thought the distortion on that unit sounded great! ;)
 

Whoareyou

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"Can an $18 amplifier be any good"?
Not unless it costs $1000.

But seriously, how many years before the technology exists to make that high quality $18 amp?
 

ClassicGuy

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This amp seems to die pretty easily (and permanently) when connected via USB.
 

TheBatsEar

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Spotted in the wild:
1684930332330973.jpg

"i love this little guy like you couldn't believe, drives 2x2x4ohm speakers in parallel just fine with a small heatsink off an old laptop charger"
 
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